Key Information

Important Dates and Times for this training

  • 7 day in-person dates

    2 to 8 November 2026

  • 4 month online dates

    2 December to March 31

  • Weekly live calls days and time

    Wednesdays at 4.00pm PST

  • Language

    In English

Check Your Time Zone

Check your local time for live sessions for this cohort

Forest Therapy Guide trainings offered by the ANFT include live sessions that are scheduled for different time zones. Please check your local time for live sessions.

What you will be able to do

What this training guides you to be able to do confidently

  • Guide Forest Therapy walks for groups

  • Facilitate the ANFT Standard Sequence of invitations

  • Meet the requirements for ANFT certification

  • Join a global network of Certified Guides

Pricing Options

Secure checkout. Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal accepted, in USD. Lodging and meals are billed separately by the venue. Wilderness First Aid certification is arranged and paid separately.

Trainers for this course

Mentor, Trainer

Tam Willey

Tam Willey (they/them) is an international trainer and mentor of guides with the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy, certified with ANFT in 2017. Informed by their background as an artist, musician, woodworking instructor, skateboarder, LGBTQIA+ youth advisor, and community advocate, Tam is passionate about relational health, bioregional herbalism, community supported agriculture, fermentation, and rites of passage. They explore themes of belonging and attention through story and immersive ways of being together, tending community partnerships across Turtle Island and locally in Jamaica Plain, Boston, where they've lived since 1998. From half-day outings to multi-day retreats, Tam guides across urban and wilder bioregions. They hold CPR, Wilderness First Aid, and Nature Therapy Guide certifications. Learn more: ToadstoolWalks.com

Christine Hoyer

Christine Hoyer is a certified Nature and Forest Therapy guide based in Tennessee. Growing up exploring nature and national parks across the United States led her to a career in wilderness management and over 17 years of trail experience. Drawn to Forest Therapy as a way to deepen her own authentic connection to nature, she has found equal meaning in holding space for others to experience its gifts. Christine serves as advisor for the ANFT's Trail Certification program, supporting the expansion of trails and trail experiences worldwide. An active guide since 2019, she also works as a coach and junior trainer for guides in training, driven by her belief that everyone has the capacity to awaken and expand their connection with the more-than-human world.

What to Expect

What your training will actually be like

  • 7 Days in person

    November 2nd - 8th, 2026 at Just Love Forest in Georgia, USA

  • 4 Months online

    December 2nd to March 31st. Live calls on Wednesdays from 4:00-6:00 pm PST

  • Estimated Weekly Time Investment

    8 to 12 hours each week between live meetings (on Zoom, which are recorded in the event you miss them), online course work (such as reading, videos, quizzes), and field work in nature (practicing invitations, sit spot, and walks)

Course Curriculum

What you will learn during your training

7 day In person Experiential Training

Practice in real time: apply what you’re learning through live, in-person forest therapy walks from day one.

Meet your trainers and your cohort face to face: building the foundation for the four months you’ll spend learning together online.

Learn ANFT’s Standard Sequence hands-on: guided by your trainers, learning the structured methodology and the stylistic adaptations.

Guide your first walk: with direct feedback and debrief.

Deepen into the practice itself, with the time and space that only in-person training allows. 

Deepen your relationship with the more-than-human-world and start developing your co-emergence guiding skills. 

Ask the questions that only surface in person: the ones that come up once you’re actually standing in the forest, guiding.

4 Month online

Continue building fluency in ANFT’s Standard Sequence, now applying it independently between live calls.

Embody the Way of the Guide: the heart-centered approach you began practicing in person.

Continue to learn and apply Language for Relational Forest Therapy: Words that open the door for relationship with the more-than-human world.

Practice somatic techniques for embodied awareness, continuing what you started on the land.

Develop facilitation skills that create real hospitality for group sharing.
 

Get to know your bioregion, its history, its watershed, the sense of belonging that comes from truly knowing a place.

Ground your practice in nature and forest therapy research.

Know the competency standards of what a Forest Therapy Guide should know and be able to do.

Learn to promote your forest therapy offerings, building this into a sustainable

What students are saying

What this transformational training can open up for you

Danika Jones

Lavender Cohort

"This was a very transformative training for me as a forest bathing guide and as a person. I look at the world in such a different way now and am so grateful. While at times I wish I had this new found perspective for longer, I know this is exactly the right time for me to be going through this. This training has not only prepared me for guiding forest therapy walks but feel like it has provided the space, prompts and support for me to do some much needed remembering of who I am and what my purpose is while I am here on earth. I approach almost every aspect of my life in a new light and am beyond grateful that I listened to my gut and pushed through my edges and completed this course. For me, it was life changing."

Sara Danford

Lotus Cohort

"While, on its surface, this learning journey has been a journey to becoming a certified Guide, it has been so much deeper than that. It has been a journey back to self-trust and autonomy. It has changed how I view myself, the wider world, and my place in the world. I am crossing the threshold from Trainee to Guide with a clear sense of my vocation and how to bring that to life in the world. This experience has been so healing and so much more than just learning a new skill. Thank you."

Kaira Lim

Mossy Forest Cohort

"Before enrolling in this forest therapy course, I was actually learning mindfulness and trying to apply mindfulness in my everyday life. However, sitting down and noticing my breath didn't work well for me. On a really challenging mental health day, I gave up sitting down to meditate, and walked into the forest instead. I sat with a stone for 20 minutes, and from then on I knew that my path would take me out of the meditation room and into the arms of mother nature. Since enrolling in the course, I have discovered the power of now. Not in force-fitting myself into a method that didn't work for me, but in opening the doors of my senses and trusting my heart, body, and the forest to guide me through the door. The power of now lay in being relationally present with nature, with others, and with myself; not in a sterile room of isolation. Through these 6 months, I have become more present to Love -- through relationship, connection and remembrance."

Natasha Sizlo

Mossy Forest Cohort

"After losing my home in the fires, I was drawn to this course as a way to steady myself and begin to heal. What I received was far more than I expected. This training taught me how to slow down, listen deeply, and relate to the natural world as a living partner rather than a backdrop. One of the greatest challenges was unlearning the urge to fix or overexplain, and learning to trust simplicity, silence, and the wisdom of the land. The impact has been profound. I am now offering forest therapy in Los Angeles and Montecito with confidence and ease, and already working with clients through referrals. This course didn’t just support my healing, it fundamentally changed how I show up in my life and work."

Jennifer Zara

Regal Birdflower Cohort

"Taking this course has been life-changing for me. I've always been a "nature person" but I had no idea just how much deeper my connection to nature could be. I have reignited my childhood awe with the natural world without feeling embarrassed by it. Now I am proud of my connection to nature and hope to lead by example so that others can have no hesitation in their true feelings for the natural world and the more-than-human-beings. While this course has been absolutely amazing it has not been without its challenges. Public speaking has always been a huge challenge for me so this is something that I've been working on during the course and I'm sure I will continue to improve as I do more walks. This course has allowed me to reconnect with my true self."

Yuliana K

Sky of Clouds Cohort

"This learning journey has been very meaningful for me. The value of slowing down truly opened for me for the first time. Through this course I began to recognize my own natural rhythm of being. For many years I have lived and worked in a very intense and fast environment, and this practice helped me rediscover a different pace of life. For the first time in a long time, I felt that I was in the right place with my cohort. Many things in the course resonated deeply with me. Some things still feel challenging, and I know this is part of the path. At home, I noticed that I spend more time simply observing the space around me instead of trying to control everything. This has influenced my relationship with my children. I feel less tension and more trust. I realized that I am not responsible for everything all the time. In the same way that we say “the forest has your back,” I began to feel that life also has my back. The regular practice of walks and the shift from acting in the world to being in relationship with it has changed the quality of my life. I look forward with an open heart to continuing this path."

FAQ

  • What exactly do I achieve at the end, and what is ANFT certification?

    When you complete the training, you become a Certified Forest Therapy Guide through the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides and Programs (ANFT), which is recognized as one of the founding, most established certification bodies in the field. In practical terms, you'll leave with: ANFT Certification, which allows you to use the title "Certified Forest Therapy Guide" and practice professionally under that credential. Listing in the ANFT Guide Directory, connecting you to a global network of guides and to potential clients searching for someone in your area. Proficiency in the ANFT sequence and methodology, the walk structure and set of invitations that guides use to open a relational, embodied experience of nature for others. Membership in a living community of practice — ongoing peer connection, continuing education opportunities, and a lineage of guides who support one another well beyond the training itself.

  • What does it cost in total, including things not in the price above?

    This program starts with a 7 day in-person program which is 100% experiential and hands on training in being a Forest therapy guide. The 7 day is followed by a 4-month online consolidation learning journey. You complete the training in 5 months and receive your certification as a Forest Therapy Guide. Tuition for the In-Person Guide Certification trainings is US $3,600.00. Students may opt to select a payment plan for tuition if full payment cannot be made upfront. Payment plans are for $720 per month over five months, $3,600.00 USD total, with the first payment of $720 serving as a deposit that will confirm your enrollment and reserve your space in the course. The tuition fee‍ covers the tuition for both the 7-day in person part of the training and the 4-month online part of the training. Transport, Accommodation and Food costs for 7-day in person are not included in the $3,600.00 tuition fee.

  • How much time per week does the online part take?

    4 month online consolidation training: 8 to 12 hours each week between live meetings (on Zoom, which are recorded in the event you miss them), online course work (such as reading, videos, quizzes), and field work in nature (practicing invitations, sit spot, and walks).

  • Do I need prior experience, or a background in therapy or nature work?

    There are only two requirements for joining: an ability to communicate semi-fluently in the language the course is being offered in and an enthusiasm for nature.

  • What is the refund and cancellation policy?

    Please view our full Payment, Transfer, and Refund Policy here: https://anft.earth/payment-refund-policy/

  • What happens if I miss a live session?

    Main live sessions are recorded. You can make-up less than half of those session and still be eligible for certification.

  • Can I work as a guide anywhere in the world after this?

    Yes! We have guides internationally who work in their own communities and travel to others to guide walks all over our beautiful Earth.

  • Who do I contact if I have a question before enrolling?

    Please reach out to [email protected] with any specific questions.